Social media influencer Pucca's landlord speaks to 12punto: 'We couldn't find the house even though we handed it over. The damage to the house is currently estimated at 200-250 thousand liras'

Ayhan TAŞPINARLIOĞLU - 12punto.com.tr

A "housing crisis" has been ongoing for months between social media influencer Pucca (Selen Pınar Işık) and her landlord Jale Tuncer.

Landlord Tuncer shared the current state of her house on her social media account, claiming that Işık had damaged the property.

Following these developments, Tuncer answered questions from 12punto.com.tr.

How many months has she not paid your rent?

"She hasn't paid my rent for 18 months.

What reason does she give for not paying?

She doesn't give a reason because she doesn't engage with me.

Which items in your house were damaged, where was the damage, and what is the extent of your loss?

We couldn't find the house even though we handed it over. The damage to the house is currently estimated at 200-250 thousand liras. That is my architect friend's estimate. There was a smart home system in the house. I'm not even including that in the mix. We had spent about 2500 dollars when we had that installed. The refrigerator doesn't work. The shelves inside the refrigerator have rusted. We don't know if the dishwasher and oven can be salvaged because our architect friend said they couldn't be opened due to the smell. The kitchen marble is broken and has collapsed downwards. We had a wardrobe built; its doors have fallen off. Almost none of the electrical outlets are in place. The radiators have been damaged. The doors have been impacted. These are the ones that come to mind.

Are you going to file a lawsuit because she damaged your house?

I won't be able to file one because just the expert witness fee is 25 thousand liras. Then there are lawyer fees. I would need to pay close to 80 thousand liras. I already have an ongoing enforcement file. I haven't even been able to collect the unpaid rent for 18 months. It's not even clear if I will be able to collect it. I see the 80 thousand liras as wasted money, at least. Because I don't think I can collect it. I'm thinking I'd rather spend it on the house and get it fixed up as soon as possible.

So, she has no statement from her apologizing or saying she will cover your damages. Is that correct?

No. That's where the problem lies. One of the things that hurts and upsets me the most is this. First, she left my house without any notice. I learned about this from social media. Her followers sent me photos saying she had moved out of your house. Later, I called the management and learned from them. She handed over the keys 2 weeks after she left. Let alone apologizing, she didn't even think we deserved to be told 'I'm leaving' when she moved out of my house.

Tuba Ünsal encountered the same situation. Have you been in contact with Ms. Tuba?

No, I haven't. I had already exposed the fact that she hadn't paid her rent on February 7th. After that exposure, Ms. Tuba shared something like this on her own social media account. She did the same things to her, too. She left her place without paying rent as well. I wanted to expose it because it has become a lifestyle for Ms. Pınar.

I took a look at your social media. I think you believe that current laws do not protect landlords.

Yes, I definitely think so. I couldn't get the person who hadn't paid rent for 16 months evicted because the eviction time hadn't come. There are certain loopholes in the law. Ms. Pınar filed a lawsuit saying she didn't receive the first notification. Even though she didn't pay rent, she filed a lawsuit against me. One day I saw on my e-government portal that a lawsuit had been filed against me.

When we wanted to send the second notification, we learned that her registered address had changed. Thus, she extended the period. There are loopholes in the law. The law does not protect landlords as much as it protects tenants. We have an eviction hearing on July 4th. She would probably have been evicted then. It doesn't end with an eviction lawsuit, because there is also an appeal process for this. A tenant who doesn't pay rent also has the right to appeal. If she had gone that route, she would have stayed in my house for another 2-3 years."